CHURCH ANALYTICS

When your church affirms “Christ Centeredness” as one of its greatest strengths, it is effectively reflecting and proclaiming Jesus Christ in all that it does as a church. Understanding what God has done for us and who we are in Christ is foundational to becoming a thriving church. Your church has grasped this concept. To continue to thrive in this area, here are a few suggestions:

• Ensure that your church values the role of prayer in every endeavor.
• Allow the church’s leadership team to share their faith stories with one another.
• Evaluate every program and ministry project through the lens of Christ’s gospel message.
• Teach and preach on the centrality of the gospel to transform broken lives and reorient the goal of who the church is called to be.
• Elevate spiritual transformation as the main goal of every program and ministry in the church.

Recommended Resources for Christ-Centeredness:

• Christ-Centered Preaching: Redeeming the Expository Sermon by Bryan Chapell
• Emotionally Healthy Church: A Strategy for Discipleship that Actually Changes Lives by Pete Scazzero
• Revitalize: Biblical Keys to Helping Your Church Come Alive Again by Mark Dever and Andrew Davis
• Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel Centered Ministry in Your City by Tim Keller
• ReJesus: A Wild Messiah for a Missional Church by Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch

When your church affirms “Vision Clarity” as one of its greatest strengths, church members possess a clear understanding of the church’s overall mission and vision. The goal of Vision Clarity is to ingrain the vision of the church into the minds of the members so that they understand the purpose of the church and live it out in all aspects of life. From these scores, the congregation appears to embody the vision of the church. Here are a few suggestions to solidify the church’s vision:

• Gather your leadership team and spend time redefining the church’s vision and mission statements to better reflect the current realities of the church. Make them as concise and clear as possible.
• Preach a sermon series on the church’s mission, vision, and goals so that the congregation recognizes the church’s purpose.
• Incorporate the church’s vision into all of the church’s printed material and media.
• Ensure that you instruct new members concerning the mission and vision of the church, whether through catechesis or new member classes.

Recommended Resources for Vision Clarity

• Visioneering by Andy Stanley
• Courageous Leadership: Field-Tested Strategy for the 360° Leader by Bill Hybels
• Christian Reflections on The Leadership Challenge by James Kouzes
• God Dreams: 12 Vision Templates for Finding and Focusing Your Church’s Future by Will Mancini and Warren Bird

When your church affirms “Authentic Worship” as one of its greatest strengths, the church is actively engaging in personal and corporate worship. Thriving churches have dynamic worship that offers a personal and corporate encounter with the living God. The environment at your church appears to foster these types of encounters. Here are a few suggestions for ensuring that your church remains an authentic worshiping community:

• Seek God’s face anew and have a corporate time of prayer, worship, and repentance.
• Teach and preach on the meaning and value of God-centered worship as central to the message of the church.
• Encourage the leaders in your church to fully engage in personal and corporate worship as a vital aspect in all of the their lives.

Recommended Resources for Authentic Worship:

• Worship Old and New by Robert Webber
• Christ-Centered Worship by Bryan Chapell
• After You Believe: Why Christian Character Matters by NT Wright
• Rhythms of Grace by Mike Cosper

When your church affirms “Covenant Community” as one of its greatest strengths, the church is experiencing deep, abiding fellowship. Thriving churches exemplify a covenant community that is essential to disciple-making and community building. The people of your church appear to understand the importance of fellowship for community. To ensure that your congregation continues to embrace the importance of a covenant community:

• Offer teaching and preaching on the vital importance of covenant relationships.
• Reevaluate the church’ small group and/or Sunday School ministries to see if they are meeting the needs of the congregation.
• Train small group/Sunday School leaders in how to successfully host and run a covenant discipleship group.
• Cast a vision for these covenant groups to be a part of the church’s overall discipleship strategy.

Recommended Resources for Covenant Community:

• Activate: An Entirely New Approach to Small Groups by Nelson Searcy
• Community: Taking Your Small Group off Life Support by Brad House
• Everyday Church: Gospel Communities on Mission by Tim Chester and Steve Timmis
• Community 101: Reclaiming the Local Church as Community of Oneness by Gilbert Bilezikian and John Ortberg
• Organic Community: Creating a Place Where People Naturally Connect by Joseph R. Myers

When your church affirms “Leadership Development” as one of your greatest strengths, the church has clear processes for identifying, training and supporting leaders. Thriving churches have a leadership pipeline that actively seeks to identify and develop servant leaders. Based on these scores, your systems have adequately identified and trained leaders for the body of Christ. Here are a few ways you can continue to invest in leadership development:

• Meet regularly with the church’s leadership team to ensure that they are growing individually and relationally.
• Create a robust reading list surrounding core tenets of leadership.
• Establish ways to identify and train new leaders in the church.
• Schedule intentional leadership training and accountability events and activities.
• Host an annual or bi-annual leadership retreat.
• Evaluate ways to support and encourage those who are currently leading in your church.

Recommended Resources for Leadership Development:

• The Missional Leader: Equipping Your Church to Reach a Changing World by Alan Roxburgh and Fred Romanuk
• Untamed: Reactivating a Missional of Discipleship by Alan and Debra Hirsch
• Visioneering by Andy Stanley
• The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
• The Leadership Baton: An Intentional Strategy for Developing Leaders in Your Church by Rowland Forman, Jeff Jones, and Bruce Miller

When your church affirms “Spiritual Formation” as one of your greatest strengths, the church employs intentional and systemic ways of enabling members to grow and mature as disciples. Thriving churches teach the importance of spiritual disciplines to make and grow disciples of Christ. Your church has placed a healthy emphasis on discipleship and understands its importance for vitality. Here are a few ways to improve your church’s commitment to Spiritual Formation:

• Evaluate your church’s current process for teaching spiritual formation.
• Create a systematic plan for discipleship growth.
• Teach and Preach on the importance of spiritual disciplines and the means of grace.
• Offer teaching concerning how believers can hear the voice of God in their own lives.
• Create a rule of life for practicing the spiritual disciplines (see Ruth Haley Barton’s Sacred Rhythms for an example Rule of Life).

Recommended Resources for Spiritual Formation:

• Faithful Presence: Seven Disciplines that Shape the Church for Mission by David Fitch
• Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth by Richard J. Foster
• A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society by Eugene H. Peterson
• Invitation to a Journey: A Road Map for Spiritual Formation by Robert Mulholland Jr. and Ruth Haley Barton
• You Are What You Love by James K. A. Smith
• The Book of Common Prayer

When your church affirms “Effective Systems and Structures” as one of its greatest strengths, the essential methods of the church are effectively communicating and organizing its functions. Churches need to reevaluate their systems and structures every few years to make sure that they are current with the life cycle of the church. Based on these scores, your church appears to operate efficiently and in a fluid manner. A few suggestions for fine tuning your church’s systems and structures are:

• Evaluate the current systems and structures to see if they reflect the vision of the church and serve its most important needs.
• Create a robust reading list of articles and books on leadership dynamics that your leadership team can read and discuss with each other.
• Empower the leaders within your church to speak up with their ideas and suggestions.
• Develop a detailed plan for the church’s goals for the next 3-5 years.
• Evaluate the possibility of hiring new staff or creating new ministries as needs arise.

Recommended Resources for Effective Systems and Structures:

• Sticky Teams: Keeping Your Leadership Team and Staff on the Same Page by Larry Osborne
• The Problem of Wineskins: Church Structure in a Technological Age by Howard A. Snyder
• The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactice for Changing Your Organization and the World by Ronald Heifetz and Marty Linsky
• The Trellis and the Vine by Colin Marshall and Tony Payne
• 5Q: Reactivating the Original Intelligence and Capacity of the Body of Christ by Alan Hirsch

When your church affirms “Lay Mobilization” as one of its greatest strengths, the church is training and releasing the laity of the church to do the work of the ministry. Thriving churches help believers discover, develop and exercise their gifts in appropriate ministries. Your church understands the importance of empowering the laity for the work of the Body. Below are some suggestions for making sure that your church’s laity continues to thrive as a vital part of the church’s mission:

• Evaluate the church’s current lay ministry involvement.
• Establish clear and strategic ways for recruiting, training, empowering, and mobilizing volunteers.
• Focus on communicating the importance of church membership and what it entails.
• Champion lay ministry from the pulpit and honor those who serve your church.

Recommended Resources for Lay Mobilization:

• Sticky Church by Larry Osbourne
• Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City by Tim Keller
• Creating a Missional Culture: Equipping the Church for the Sake of the World by JR Woodward
• Transforming Discipleship by Greg Ogden

When your church affirms “Kingdom Generosity” as one of its greatest strengths, the church is living out the reality of good stewardship. Many church members have never been taught the importance of Kingdom Generosity. Thriving churches teach their members to be good stewards of their God-given resources. Your church fosters a strong Biblical view of stewardship in all aspects of life. Here are ways you can ensure that your church remains a generous congregation:

• Evaluate your church’s current giving membership.
• Offer teaching on how generosity is central to the mission of the Gospel.
• Connect the value of giving with mission and discipleship.

Recommended Resources for Kingdom Generosity:

• Biblical Stewardship by Alfred Martin
• Crafting a Theology of Stewardship by Joel Mikell
• The Treasure Principle: Unlocking the Secret of Joyful Giving by Randy Alcorn
• Glittering Vices: A New Look at the Seven Deadly Sins and Their Remedies by Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung

When your church affirms “Missional Impulse” as one of its greatest strengths, the church is actively engaged in mission locally and globally. Thriving churches have a missional impulse and place a high priority on reaching the lost with the message of Jesus Christ. Your church has seen the need to reach the lost and has taken action to fulfill this mission. Here are a few ways to ensure that your church continues to see the Mission of God as important:

• Evaluate the church’s current involvement in mission locally, domestically, and internationally.
• Explore ways that the church can teach about mission.
• Create new opportunities for church members to participate in hands-on mission.
• Partner with local mission organization in order to provide support and volunteers for the community that surrounds the church.
• Partner with a church plant to provide prayer and support for those who are seeking to create new Gospel communities.

Recommended Resources for Missional Impulse:

•  The Forgotten Ways: Reactivating Apostolic Movements by Alan Hirsch
• Churches the Make a Difference: Reaching Your Community with Good News and Good Works by Ronald Sider, Philip Olsen, and Heidi Rolland Unruh
• Total Church: A Radical Reshaping around Gospel and Community by Steve Timmis and Tim Chester
• The Multiplying Church by Bob Roberts
• Church Without Walls by Jim Peterson
• Viral Churches: Helping Church Planters Become Movement Makers by Ed Stetzer